Description

King K. Rool has stolen Donkey Kong's banana stash, and Donkey Kong needs your help to get them back. In search of K. Rool, the Kremling horde impedes your progress. Kremlings, crocodile-like creatures, include Kritters (they succumb to a simple jump on the head), Krushas (they are virtually indestructible), and others. There are also other enemies that block your path, such as beavers, snakes, vultures. Leading them are dastardly bosses, including Very Gnawty, Necky, Queen B., and Dumb Drum, and they all bar the way with their own special blend of villainy.

Donkey Kong is joined by Diddy Kong: these two primates differ significantly. For example, Donkey Kong is generally stronger; he can destroy most enemies with a single jump and can lift barrels straight over his head to throw them farther. On the other hand, Diddy is faster and not as strong as Donkey; he can run really fast and do cartwheels. Diddy carries barrels in front of him, creating a shield against frontal attacks.

The game is split into different worlds, which are split into different levels. Each level contains bonus areas, where one can collect bananas, medallions, and lives. At the end of each world is a boss, which is usually a larger version of a minor enemy.

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Trivia

Animated series

An animated TV series was based on the characters and world of the Donkey Kong Country game. Running from 1997-2000, the series featured all of the cast from the game plus additional new characters. The series was animated with CGI (mostly with SoftImage for those who care), and was not very successful commercially in North America.

Board game

Cranky Kong

Cranky Kong is actually the "original" Donkey Kong from the early 80s and will drone on and on about how games don't need 16-bits and etc.

Donkey Kong Junior

Donkey Kong's sidekick for Donkey Kong Country was originally going to be an updated version of Donkey Kong Junior from the 1980s arcade game. Nintendo, however, objected, and told Rare to either keep Junior's original design, or create a completely new character. This resulted in the introduction of Diddy Kong, who has since replaced Junior in all later Donkey Kong games. Following this, DK Junior's appearances have been reduced to that of an unlockable/trophy in sports-based Mario spin-offs.

Game Boy Advance Version

The Game Boy Advance version has the contrast cranked up to make the game easier to see on the darker LCD screen.

Soundtrack

The music that Cranky Kong plays on the Victrola during the intro is a rendition of the actual Donkey Kong music from the original 8-bit Nintendo game.

Super Power review

The game got a full 100 % in the Swedish magazine Super Power. The game was rated in the one day they got to borrow the early cassette. The reviewer today claims that he committed a breach of duty, and was completely astounded by the graphics so he couldn't make a proper review of the game.

Technology

Donkey Kong Country was the first game to feature the new ACM graphics technique. ACM was a new graphics technique which allowed rendering of sprites, which made the graphics for the 16 bit games that used it (the DKC games, Killer Instinct and more) extremely detailed. When it first was presented most people took it as a game for what was at the time called Project Reality (i.e. Nintendo 64). People were really shocked when it turned out to be a game for the SNES.

Awards

Electronic Gaming Monthly

November 1994 (Issue 64) - Game of the Month

FLUX Magazine

Issue #4 - #17 in the "Top 100 Video Games of All-Time" list

GameFan

1994 (Vol.3, Iss. 1) - Best SNES Action/Platform Game of the Year 1994